Boy awarded for dialing 911, saving grandfather's life

Trinton Jacobs, 6, was honored after his 911 call helped to save his grandfather, John Drummer. Jacobs is pictured with his grandfather and members of Bunkie Fire Department and Acadian Ambulance Services.(Photo: Jordan Allen/The Town Talk)Buy Photo

Trinton Jacobs had just finished eating breakfast around 8:30 in the morning April 18 when he noticed something wasn't quite right with his grandfather, John Drummer.

Jacobs, 6, was spending time with Drummer and his cousin for spring break, and that morning proved to be one that neither the boys nor their grandfather will ever forget.

Drummer has diabetes, and his blood sugar levels were dropping at a rapid pace.

"He just kept dropping stuff," Jacobs said. "He could pick stuff up, but then he would drop it. He was just acting funny."

After realizing how sick his grandfather was, Jacobs did what his mother has always taught him to do in an emergency and dialed 911.

"It was surprising that a person his age knew exactly what to do," said Joey Frank, fire chief at Bunkie Fire Department. "The timing of this call was very important to save his grandfather's life, and the boy remained calm and gave all the correct information."

Frank said Jacobs was able to calmly tell the emergency dispatcher his name and grandfather's address, and even that his grandfather is a diabetic.

First responders from Bunkie Fire Department and Acadian Ambulance Services arrived to Drummer's home within minutes of the call, and found Jacobs, waiting to escort the medical team to his grandfather. Because of his actions, Bunkie Fire Department honored Jacobs recently with a "Hero Award" for his bravery.

"We decided to honor him with this award because its an asset to have young people in our community who know what to do in these situations," said Frank. "Some children today do not participate when we go to schools and teach about emergencies and fire safety."

After receiving his award, Jacobs said he knows how much his actions mean to his family, because his grandfather has thanked him many times.

"It means a lot to me that my grandsons were there that morning," Drummer said. "My other grandson was trying to help by giving me some honey, but I think at that point I had waited too late. Trinton was scared at first and crying, but he got over his fears and called 911.

"If they weren't there with me that day, I wouldn't have been able to pull through that by myself."